Sure thankful that happened + two SPEED workouts to try!!!

Turns out I wasn’t as lucky with this round of PIG compared to last time I played with Andrew. I have no chance to win again… but at least I will never lose at air hockey (Andrew is always amazed by my cockiness when it comes to air hockey).

Andrew and I went to the gym to run together this morning. We both decided that an easy run sounded best since we were exhausted… I had already given Andrew his workouts for the week and he just chooses what days he does them. I did a mile and decided that I was actually excited to get speed in today (weird, I know… I’m blaming it on my music making me want to push it). Andrew saw that I started doing my speed after a mile warm-up so he decided to do his too. I rarely do speed on a Monday (probably because I eat so much junk on Sunday’s and stay up too late) but it felt good this Monday so I’m just going to go with it. I’ll probably take the next 2 days or so easy and then go for the really hard workout of the week.

This is what today looked like! Taken from this training plan. My .5 mile pace was a 6:30 average which meant I was rotating between 9.1-9.4 for the 12 repeats. The 45 second recovery SPEEDS went by way too fast. Feel free to start out with less repeats or stop running for the recoveries. I just prefer to move a little bit (I was doing 5.5mph for the 45 seconds break) because that is easier for me than completely stopping and starting again.

Also, when I do speed work on the treadmill I wait to start counting the interval until the treadmill is completely up to speed. The pace for these intervals is NOT an all out pace but you will be feeling it for those last 4ish repeats:) I was happy that this 6:30 pace felt more comfortable than it did a few weeks ago—> oh the joys of speed work, tracking them and looking back on our workouts and seeing improvements. 9.2 miles for the day.

Andrew started week #2 for his speed work! This is his first time incorporating intervals into his running so I really want to be careful that his body is happy with it. Last week he did 10 minutes total of intervals and this week 15 minutes total. He liked this one a lot and ended with 5 miles for the day.

Because I wasn’t planning on doing speed until a mile into my run, I wore my Launch 4s for the workout. They worked FABULOUS for speed which made me happy because I would love to race in these soon.

My brother sent me this picture just as he finished up his run. The joy of being a runner when you are a pilot:

Now for the usual randomness:

*Brooke is really into games and puzzles all of the sudden which I am loving.

She legitimately beats me at the Spot It game… her brain is way faster than mine.

Her Minnie Mouse dress has now turned into a shirt.

I call this my power lunch… it fills me up with all sorts of energy and fuel: sweet potato, ground turkey, avocado, squash/zucchini sautéed, tomatoes and corn.

Beretta got a new dog bed. This one is supposed to be better for her joints and keep her cooler… so far so good. She is half asleep in below pictures ha.

Some days I am reminded how ridiculously grateful I am that I cracked my femurs almost 6 years ago… It was that injury that finally woke me up to realize I was not treating my body right. It was the injury that I thought was the worst thing ever at the time but it was actually the biggest blessing. It got me to eat and exercise in a way to get my period back and be healthy enough to get Brooke. I’m really grateful I couldn’t run Boston that year and realized that it was time to gain body fat to get my bones healthy again and all that jazz. Thank you femurs.

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Anything in your world that seemed like the worst thing ever that turned out to be one of your biggest blessings?

33 comments

Lunch was a can of soup and salad with mostly romaine lettuce and some vinegar and oil. I’m trying to eat light after overdosing on heavy meals this weekend.

The prettiest runs for me were San Francisco, Vancouver and Wyoming. But of course I love running anywhere.

Well my husband died back in 1999 and I was so devastated. But I spent 15 years invested in me. I grew stronger and more independent and of course discovered running while grieving. I not only fell in love with running but also met an amazing man almost 3 years ago who I plan to grow old with (he has been warned to live forever!)

I wish I had been a runner when I went to Kauai. That would have been amazing! I guess I’ll just have to to back! ;-)
I did love all of the trails around Ashland, OR when I lived there. Gorgeous views!

i have a similar “slap you in the face moment” – starting out as a runner i also dropped a lot of weight quickly – unintentionally..but when your nutrition isn’t up to par your body just can’t keep up: stress fractures..various injuries…low energy and i also lost my cycle. NO idea what my body fat was…do you know what yours was when you started having issues? would love your insight! (feel free to email me) i don’t think i ever startedto go OVERBOARD with the obsession of running…but i was on that downhill slide. every day i live in the pursuit of balance and am always expanding my running horizons – crosstraining with weights and most recently an MMA style workout! crazy how sometimes there are blessings in disguise and i’m a strong believer that your struggles will one day become your strengths. would love to connect with you!

Hey Marti!! I would love to connect too! Email me at anytime… it sounds like our experiences are very similar! I actually don’t remember what my body fat percentage was at during that time but it was way way way too low. I love what you said about our struggles becoming our strengths… yes and yes!

Anonymous

I had my aha moment this week… and now i’m at a crossroads. I lost my period about 8 years ago, and have only ahd it a handful of times since. I lost a lot of weight back in 2010-2014, but have since gained most back and am definitely at a healthy BMI, but my period does not want to come back :) I ended up with a stress fracture last year training for Chicago and then trained for another marathon last spring. I had bloodwork done a week ago and found out that I have estrogen levels of someone going through menopause (I’m only 26, so this is terrifying!!) I’m slated to run Boston in April but feel like I need to take care of my body instead.. would love insight from anyone who has been in a similar situation. I love running and exercise but I know my body is telling me to rest…

Naomi

Hi!! I too lost my cycle due to overtraining/undernourishing. My OB prescribed me a round of provera and nothing happened. So I decided to increase my calories by the ways of healthy fats (more salmon, avocado, nuts, nut butters etc). My OB prescribed estradiol and another round of provera but I waited a month to see if the diet/exercise would help and sure enough, my cycle returned on it’s own last month and was exactly 28 days until the next cycle started. … my advice is listen to your body. Above anything you want to be healthy. Good luck! I hope my story helped you.

Thank you so much for sharing your story. I am SO sorry about what you have dealt with over the years and then the stress fracture and also finding out your estrogen levels are low. If it was me… I would most definitely listen to my body telling me to rest. There will always be running and races when your body is ready for it. You know you best, take care of that one body that we get and PLEASE keep me updated with how you are doing. I’m always here if you need to chat!

Stephanie Bragg

I am currently in the middle of the worst thing in the world, but thankfully I know that no matter the outcome it will be a blessing because it had caused me to rely on the Lord more than anything in my life…say a prayer if you want because it’s still extremely painful as I figure out what this will look like in the end..

Oh Stephanie! I am so beyond sorry about what you are going through right now. I wish I could take this pain away from you. I have also relied more than ever on the Lord during my darkest times and I am grateful for the relationship it brought me. Please know if you ever need anyone to talk to, I am always here. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Let me know if there is anything I can do.

Haha, that dress-turned-shirt is so cute! She is still rocking it. I love how quickly dogs come around to new beds and know that they are their own space. Hopefully the kids don’t see what I’m seeing when I’m looking at it (trampoline) haha!
I had a humita for lunch! It’s kind of like a tamale. I’ve always really loved running in State College (where Penn State is) since I lived there, but I don’t think it would be the subjectively most beautiful place.

sarah

Oooh any chance you could tell me the brand of that dog bed/where you bought it? Definitely interested in buying one for my dog (a yellow Beretta!) for all the time she spends sunbathing outside here in Tucson.

Megan D

Your lunch looks so good. I need to try that combination. I am sure it will be like your grape and cottage cheese one and I will forever thank you for introducing it to me. I had a salad – mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles, chopped walnuts. and shredded chicken I mixed with buffalo sauce and ranch dressing powder – so yummy.

I ran through snow canyon as the sun came up behind the red rocks and it was so amazingly beautiful. I don’t run too much on vacations or if I do I don’t go anywhere fun or interesting #IGetLostTooEasy

You can play PIG against me anytime you are looking to with the game ;)

Aimie C

I was working for a cruise line company going on 2 years (with a few breaks in between), 25 years old and partying wayyyyy too much, making bad choices and just had no direction. One day while out exploring in Jamaica with their crew members on some time off from the ship for the day, we
Went on an excursion…long story short I ended up falling about 20 feet from a jagged rock edge, broke my arm and badly injured my knee. The cruise ship sailed without me and I was stranded in jamaica. Needless to say I was “rescued” by my older brother who helped me get back home to Canada. I quit cruise ships, recovered from my injuries at my mom’s, found a good job related to my degree, lost a good amount of weight and fell in love with a healthier life style. I always think that if i wouldn’t have had my accident in Jamaica, who knows how long i would have worked on cruise ships?? It was a turning point in my life where a lot of good came out of a bad thing:)

Sarah O

Almost exactly six years ago I found out my ex-husband was cheating on me, our son was only 11 weeks old. I was bereft. I thought I’d never marry again, and never have any more children. I felt I would never recover from it, but I was so wrong. I met my current husband shortly after separating from my ex and now we are happily married with our blended family and our new baby who is 3 months old. My current husband is truly my soulmate and I am a better version of myself when I am with him. My ex and I got married very young and after 11 years we had just grown apart and turned into very different people. I am so grateful that my ex did what he did because otherwise I would still be married to him when we were not good for each other. We are both happier now.